Montana State University Library, Merrill G. Burlingame
Special Collections
P.O. Box 173320
Bozeman, MT 59717-3320
United States
Phone (406) 994-4242
Fax (406) 994-2851
http://www.lib.montana.edu/archives/
University Archivist
spcoll@www.lib.montana.edu
Collection 2051, MtBC, us
Paugh, Minnie Ellen,
1919-2003
Minnie Paugh Madison Valley Research
Papers
1964-1975
1.6 linear feet
The Minnie Paugh Madison Valley Research Papers consist of
research notes, oral history notes, correspondence, and other materials dealing with the
history of Montana's Madison Valley. The materials provide the reader with a brief history
of the Madison Valley in addition to sketches of various individuals, civic groups and
corporate entities. Her text also provides information on the Madison Valley's tourist trade
and agricultural industry.
Collection materials are in English
Biographical Note
Minnie Ellen Paugh was born in Virginia City, Montana on April 7, 1919 and grew up on the
family ranch at Jack Creek. She earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Montana in
Missoula, a Master's of Education degree from the University of Montana, a Master's in
Library Science from the University of Denver. Paugh first worked as a school teacher in
various eastern and northern Montana communities and, in 1961, joined the faculty of Montana
State College (later Montana State University) in Bozeman as a reference librarian and
instructor. The bulk of her time at MSU she was assigned to the Special Collections
Department at Rene Library, an area she actively built to preserve collections about
Montana, Yellowstone National Park, agricultural history, and Montana Native Americans.
During the course of her career, Paugh interviewed many old time residents of Madison County
and periodically borrowed original documents from them to photocopy. In some cases, these
copied materials were given accession numbers and added to the holdings of the Special
Collections department, but she kept others in her personal research files. In 1974, Paugh
was granted an eight-month sabbatical to research and write a history of the Madison Valley
and, while doing so, used many of the photocopies and interviews she had previously
collected. The manuscript history she produced was never published. Following her
retirement, Paugh was awarded the rank of associate professor emeritus of library science by
the Board of Regents of Higher Education for her many contributions. Paugh also received the
Blue and Gold Award for bringing national distinction and dedicated service to Montana State
University, and she died in Billings, Montana on March 20, 2003.
Collection 2051 comprises various accessions by Paugh compiled to aid in the creation of
her manuscript "History of the Madison Valley." The materials were assembled to provide the
reader with a brief history of the Madison Valley in addition to sketches of various
individuals, civic groups and corporate entities. Her text also provides information on the
Madison Valley's tourist trade and agricultural industry. Paugh used other sources to
compose her text; gleaning her information from notes based on the James S. Spray papers
(Collection 2098), the livestock history series of the WPA Records (Collection 2336), and
the
Madisonian newspaper. She also used information culled
from other family papers, business records, diaries, reminiscences, personal interviews, in
addition to the MSU accessions specifically integrated into this collection. Paugh brought
together her research over the course of an eight-month sabbatical in 1974 with an
additional two months in 1975. She received various suggestions, critiques, and corrections
from MSU personnel as well as family and friends over the course of completion of her
manuscript. Most of the folder titles were provided by Paugh herself, although the logic
behind the placement of materials within the context of those subject headings is sometimes
difficult to discern. This is especially true with notes pertaining to individuals that can
be found within folders bearing place name headings.
Series 1 Audio cassettes
Series 2 Research materials
Series 3 Manuscript drafts
Series 4 Photographs
This collection is open for research.
Research notes, oral history notes, correspondence, and other materials dealing with the
history of Montana's Madison Valley were collected or created by Minnie Paugh and donated to
Special Collections in January 1976. This collection incorporates materials from former
accessions numbered: 103, 116, 117, 125, 243, 286, 345, 415, 480, 834, 1016, and 1205.
This collection was processed 2009 September 14
Jeffers, Winifred Chowning,
1895-1990-Interviews
Vetter, John G.,
1833-1913
Ennis
(Mont.)-History
Ennis
(Mont.)-Photographs
Madison River Valley (Wyo. and
Mont.)-History
Madison River Valley (Wyo. and
Mont.)-History-Sources
Madison River Valley (Wyo. and
Mont.)-Photographs
Virginia City
(Mont.)-History
Floods-Madison River Valley (Wyo. and
Mont.)-Photographs
Frontier and pioneer life-Madison River Valley
(Wyo. and Mont.)
Frontier and pioneer
life-Montana-Ennis
Frontier and pioneer life-Montana-Virginia
City
German Americans-Montana-Virginia
City
Pioneers-Montana-Virginia City
Women-Montana-Ennis-Interviews
Photographs-Madison River Valley (Wyo. and
Mont.)
German
Americans
Pioneers
Publishers and
Publishing
Women
Montana
Series 1
Audio cassettes
Series 1 consists of audio recordings of two interviews conducted by Paugh in the
development of her text. The interview with John C. Paugh is actually a narration of a
written script by Minnie and John C. Paugh regarding his great uncle, John G. Vetter, a
frontier businessman of Virginia City. A transcript/synopsis of this interview can be
found in Series 2, Research materials. The second cassette is an interview conducted on
July 29, 1975 with Winifred Chowning Jeffers, a longtime resident of the Ennis, Montana
area, discussing her memories of the area. This interview has no transcription. Numbers
in parentheses indicate the original accession numbers for these tapes.
1/1
Audio cassettes: John C. Paugh (1250); Winifred
Jeffers (2009)
Series 2
Research materials
Series 2 pertains to Paugh's research and development of her text. Some research
materials are actually papers which were composed by Montana State University students
enrolled in history classes taught by Merrill G. Burlingame and given to Paugh by him.
The materials have been sorted in rough subject order bearing the same folder titles
assigned by Paugh, but researchers are cautioned that many folders contain notes that do
not necessarily conform to the titles. A single asterisk (*) denotes material relocated
to the Photograph series. Numbers in parentheses indicate the original accession numbers
for these materials.
1/2
Agriculture
1/3
Bear Creek
1/4
Cameron
1/5
Cattle
1/6
Chronology
1/7
Chronology
1/8
Civic Affairs
1/9
Clarkson, Emma, synopsis of interview
(243)
conducted 1964
1/10
Correspondence
1975
(research inquiries and manuscript critiques)
1/11
Dude Ranches
1/12
Dude Ranches
1/13
Ennis
1/14
Ennis--West
1/15
Explorers
1/16
Geology
1/17
Gillies, Leah, synopsis of interview regarding
Hezekiah Templeton (286)
conducted September 1964
1/18
Gilmer, Louise Ennis, synopsis of interview regarding
the murder of William Ennis (116)
conducted February 14, 1964
1/19
Horses
1/20
Indians
1/21
Industry
1/22
Jack Creek and Cedar Creek
1/23
Jeffers
1/24
Jeffers
2/1
Jordan
2/2
J. W. Chowing Mercantile
2/3
Living in Ennis
2/4
Love, Paul H.
2/5
Madison Valley Women's Club
2/6
Maps
2/7
Maynard
2/8
McAllister-Meadow Creek
2/9
McGuire, Nell Vetter--Ennis town lot abstract
(834)
2/10
Medicine
2/11
Metzel, Etta Boatman, synopsis of interview
(345)
conducted July 1975
2/12
Minerals and mining
2/13
Missouri Flat
2/14
Notes, miscellaneous
2/15
Paugh family, materials provided by George Paugh (103
and 125) *
2/16
Paugh, George E., synopsis of interview regarding the
murder of William Ennis (117)
conducted March 29, 1964
2/17
Paugh, John C., Reminiscence of John G. Vetter from
audio cassette in Series 1 (1205)
2/18
Recreation
2/19
Sheep
2/20
Unused Material
2/21
Unused Material
2/22
Varney
2/23
Water rights
2/24
Weather
2/25
Wild Life
Series 3
Manuscript drafts
Series 3 consists of Paugh's four different draft copies of her manuscript. The draft
versions of the work provide evidence of the manuscript's evolution from initial
composition, to its correction assisted by others, and to its final draft ready for
publication submission. People whom Paugh asked to correct the manuscript include:
Merrill G. Burlingame; Marjorie Brister; Winifred Chowning Jeffers; Catherine Armitage;
Zora McKee Armstrong; Paul Love; Theodore, Ralph, John and Robert Paugh. Although all
contributed to the corrections, it is not always possible to determine any particular
individual's notations.
3/1
Rough Draft I
3/2
Rough Draft I
3/3
Rough Draft I
3/4
Rough Draft I
3/5
Rough Draft II
3/6
Rough Draft II
3/7
Rough Draft II
3/8
Rough Draft II
3/9
Rough Draft III
3/10
Rough Draft III
3/11
Rough Draft III
3/12
Rough Draft III
4/1
Final Draft
4/2
Final Draft
4/3
Final Draft
Series 4
Photographs
Images collected by Paugh in relation to her research and possible inclusion in a
published version of her manuscript. This series has been divided up into two sections
the first being the photographs collected by Paugh, the second containing the negatives
of the assorted photographic images. Each photograph is numbered and if there is a
corresponding negative, the negative has received the same number as the photograph. Not
all photographs have a corresponding negative and four negatives do not have a
corresponding print image. Numbers in parentheses indicate the original accession
numbers for these materials.
#1-7
4/4
Individuals and groups of individuals
#1
Unidentified male sitting on a fence, "Elkhorn fence
at McAllister, Mont."
#2
Unidentified male posing beside dead puma killed
near Tim Switzer place
#3
Wm. Ennis
#4
Nell Vetter McGuire, Ray Hungerford, Bert Vetter
(834)
#5
Tim Crandell, Ernest Vetter, Berta Vetter, Tim
Vetter, Nell McGuire, Jessie Vetter
#6
Arlie Sackett, Jay Jeffers, Spencer Watkins, John
Speedy, Clarence Jeffers, Jake Watkins, Clifford Jeffers, Paul Jeffers
#7
Clarence Jeffers, Millard Saunders, Martin Peel,
Clifford Jeffers, Sam Rutherford, Tommy Walters, Nolan Lockeridge, Tim Switzer, Ed
Montgomery (834)
#8-19
4/5
Business and industry
#8
Nelson's Garage
#9
Chowning's Store
#10
Chowning's Store
#11
Chowning's Store
#12
Chowning's Store
#13
Chowning's Store
#14
Jeffer's School
#15
Hauling wool
#16
Sheep wagon
#17
Valley Garden Shearing Sheds
#18
Valley Garden Shearing Sheds
#19
Hutton's wood saw
#20-25
4/6
Ennis Main Street
#20
Ennis Main Street
#21
Ennis Main Street
#22
Ennis Main Street
#23
Ennis Main Street
#24
Ennis Main Street
#25
Ennis Main Street
#26-32
4/7
Ennis Street Rodeo
#26
Pet Bear
#27
Bucking Broncos'
#28
Burt Vetter on Bronco
#29
Nelson Livery Stable
#30
Nelson Livery Stable
#31
Pony Race Prep
#32
Ennis Street Rodeo
#33-45
4/8
Homes/Homesteads
#33
Ed Chamberlain home
#34
Hutchin's ranch
#35
Wm. Ennis home
#36
Wm. Ennis home
#37
Wm. Ennis home
#38
M.D. Jeffers home
#39
M.D. Jeffers home
#40
Dr. Thomas B. Marquis home
#41
Ben Pickens home
#42
James Saunders barn and Shed
#43
Slade's cabin
#44
George Vetter home (103)
#45
Unknown homestead (415)
#46-62
4/9
Madison Valley--Jack Creek Flood
#46
Jack Creek Flood
#47
Piled fence panels
#48
Cellar clean up
#49
Cellar clean up
#50
Jack Creek Flood
#51
Jack Creek Flood
#52
Jack Creek Flood
#53
Debris
#54
Slide
#55
Paugh home
#56
Paugh barnyard
#57
County road crew
#58
Machinery in creek
#59
Bridge to sheep barn
#60
Near Paugh home
#61
Jack Creek Flood
#62
Back of shop
#63-69
4/10
Ruby Creek Dam and Madison Canyon Pipeline
#63
Ruby Creek Dam
#64
Ruby Creek Dam
#65
Power house view of pipeline
#66
Madison Canyon Pipeline
#67
Madison Canyon Pipeline
#68
Madison Canyon Pipeline
#69
Madison Canyon Pipeline
#70-78
4/11
Scenic shots and wildlife
#70
Hutchens Toll Bridge (415)
#71
Hutchens Toll Bridge
#72
Madison River Bridge
#73
Cliff Lake, MT
#74
Elk Horn Fence
#75
Sun Ranch Buffalo
#76
Wolf
#77
Chamberlain's coach team
#78
Buford cattle
#1-7
4/12
Individual and Group
negatives
#8-13 and 15-19
4/13
Business and Industry
negatives
#20-24
4/14
Ennis Main Street
negatives
#26-32
4/15
Ennis Street Rodeo
negatives
#33-37 and 39-43
4/16
negatives
#63-65
4/17
Ruby Creek Dam and Madison Canyon Pipeline
negatives
#70-72 and 77-78
4/18
Scenic shots and wildlife
negatives
#79-82
4/19
no corresponding image
negatives
#79
"Vic Smith (Yellowstone Vic), The Hero of Ft. Pease,
1879" (415)
#80
Dick Rock (Rocky Mountain Dick)
1887
#81
Dick Rock (Rocky Mountain Dick), posing with his
trained horse
1887
#82
I.A. Hutchins and Jake Bunch with a captured
mountain sheep (415)